Lester Holt, anchor of the weekend editions of NBC's Today and Nightly News said it took gall to apply to NBC as an 18-year-old in a commencement address to Pepperdine University this weekend.

NBC rejected his application but reconsidered 23 years later. Holt said he still reads the letter for a laugh.

He is quoted on the Nightly News's website saying:

What I've come to know is that in life, it's not always the questions we ask, but rather our ability to hear the answers that truly enriches our understanding. Never, never stop learning. You'll graduate from here today, but in life, class is never really dismissed.

Pepperdine awarded Holt an honorary doctorate degree and asked his son Stefan, a 2009 graduate and morning anchor at NBC5 Chicago, to present him with it. The two were all smiles in an Instagram photo Stefan posted.

When not picking up honorary degrees or anchoring the news, Holt plays the bass. Watch him play with Luke Bryan below.